More from John Hinderaker on The Constitution in 2020:
The left makes no secret of its intentions where the Constitution is concerned. It wants to change it, in ways that have nothing to do with what the document actually says. It wants the Constitution to enshrine its own policy preferences–thus freeing it from the tiresome necessity of winning elections. And how will the Constitution be changed? Through a constitutional convention, or a vote of two-thirds of the state legislatures? Of course not. The whole problem, from the liberal perspective, is that they can’t get democratically elected bodies to enact their agenda. As one of the Yale conference participants said: “We don’t have much choice other than to believe deeply in the courts–where else do we turn?” The new, improved Constitution will come about through judicial re-interpretation. It only awaits, perhaps, the election of the next Democratic president.
IF THE IDEA OF A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to government-funded child care, “adequate” recreation, and $80,000 in cash seems outlandish, remember that these concepts are no more eccentric than the idea of a right to abortion was, prior to Roe v. Wade. As a law school exercise in 1972, my class was charged with trying to formulate an argument for a constitutional right to abortion. We were stumped. None of us could think of one. A few months later, the “right” to abortion was born.
The Other Club noted this conference on 13-April because of Hinderaker’s Powerline post of 9-April.
I’m glad to see a followup.